12 Transfer Targets Who Could Rescue West Ham United From Relegation

The upcoming transfer window is so vitally important for clubs to bring in the right players that will change the fortunes of the club, whether that be for the final push towards winning the league such as in Chelsea’s case or if it means to avoid relegation just like supporters of West Ham United, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers will be hoping.

In West Ham’s case there are some very important positions that appear to be weak and in need of some very important signings. These acquisitions could be the difference between the Hammers playing in the nPower Championship next season and staying in the Barclays Premier League.

Here are my recommendations in terms of where West Ham United need help and which players would be a suitable fit:

Defenders

West Ham’s defence is leaking badly this season and potentially could prove to be there undoing this season. The back line needs so serious refurbishment and these could be the players to do it;

Wayne Bridge – The answer to the Hammers left back problem is Wayne Bridge. However due to their current financial predicament they could not afford to buy Bridge. Also he would be unlikely to agree to a permanent deal, with the chances of Championship football so very high with the clubs current league position. Signing Bridge on a loan deal would sure up the defence till the summer and if he could fly down the wing and maybe chip in with a couple of assists.

David Wheater – Wheater is growing tired of Championship football and would perhaps be interested in a move up to the Premier League. Certainly the London lifestyle would appeal to anyone, however would he be interested in coming to West Ham with their chances of going down? Would David really be interested in going down again in just five months? Wheater would be a strong permanent signing in the defence, a commanding presence that the club certainly could so with.

Joleon Lescott – Rumours have been floating about, that Roberto Mancini could be tempted to let him go in the window. However his extortionate wages mean that he is an impossible signing for most clubs. The signing of Lescott would be seen as a coup by most people, however, again this would only be on loan and given his history he is far more likely to move to Wolves as he has already played for them and is from the Black Country.

Johnny Evans – Evans has been told he may go out on loan to rebuild his confidence after his poor performance at Upton Park in the League Cup, where he could have been blamed for several of the goals. However he has proven in the past from his spell at Sunderland, that he has potential and is in fact a very sturdy and accomplished centre half. A loan spell at West ham could be just the thing he needs to bring back his shattered confidence.

Midfielders

West Ham have troubles in midfield. Three very good players have been injured, two for most of the season. They potentially already have the midfielders at the club if only they were not injured. Every Hammers fans is desperate to see Thomas Hitzlsperger play and the return of Jack Collison will be a huge boost. However until that happens these are just some of their options;

Miralem Sulejamni – Although predominately a forward, Sulejamni can play on the wing and his pace would help the club down the left flank. Naturally left footed as well, he certainly would provide an interesting outlet for the club. The club already recognised this as they tried to acquire his services in the summer and agreed a deal not only with the club but the player as well. Unfortunately they couldn’t secure a work permit, however with the autumn internationals maybe he has now played the required amount of international games to acquire a work permit.

Shaun Wright-Phillips – This is a fairly obvious option as he would provide a massive amount of pace. Granted he can only play on the right wing and it would most definitely be a loan signing as his wages and transfer fee are going to be way out of the hammers price range, but Wright-Phillips may be tempted to sign for the Irons as his father Ian Wright played for the club and may encourage his son to sign for the Irons.

Jamie O’Hara – O’Hara is an obvious candidate for the Hammers, having worked with manager Avram Grant last season at Portsmouth. However O’Hara has been injured all season and although is returning to full fitness, would signing him be any different to waiting for Collison or Hitzlesperger for regain fitness.

Joey Barton – This is a rumour that has broken over the last few weeks and will be very interesting especially if the board run out of patience with Grant and decide to give Chris Houghton a chance to be manager of the club. Barton comes with a lot of off field baggage but at the same time so did Lee Bowyer and he never let the club down. He would provide grit and determination in the midfield and would make a very interesting and could potentially claw the club away from the relegation zone.

Strikers

West Ham has a very badly misfiring forward line. The club has simply not scored enough goals, they have got eight goals this season from midfield and their strike force has got only five. The potential candidates are;

Carlos Tevez – Completely ludicrous and never going to happen but his transfer request at Manchester City has put hope into every Hammers fan, that maybe just maybe he will return to keep the club up and repeat his heroics of four years ago. Obviously this would be a loan signing as City would wanted at least £30million and he would be worth every penny, Mr Ferguson. Realistically Tevez is not an option. But the idea of the player what he does and how he plays is exactly the sort of player the Hammers need to sign to keep themselves up.

John Carew – Carew would be a fantastic signing for the club. A man who can not only shoot but can also score headers, something that West Ham really do need at the club. A goal scorer who can ultimately get goals as well as setting them up, with knock downs for his fellow strikers. Carew would be a loan signing as his transfer fee would be around the five million mark and that would be a rather large substantial sum of the estimated transfer kitty given to the manager in January.

Robbie Keane – Pace, finishing and creativity. All the traits that our strikers currently lack. Robbie Keane would be just the man to fire the club out of the trouble as his creativity is something that the Hammers clearly lack, and his ability to be able to score from nowhere is something that they definitely do lack. Obinna tries hard but doesn’t have the accuracy or the consistency. Keane would need to be a loan signing as the transfer fee and wages he would demand would be something that the West Hams financial men could simply not find.

Rickie Lambert – This would be a giant gamble by the club, however Lambert’s goal scoring record speaks for itself. Over the past few seasons he has scored over 20+ goals, this shows he certainly knows his way to goal and could just be the man to fire the Hammers to safety. Lambert would agree to come to the club on a permanent basis as even if the club were to be relegated, he would still be playing at a higher level than if he were to stay at Southampton. The transfer fee for Lambert would be around the 3.5million mark I imagine, so something that is well within the Hammers reach.

Whatever the club do in January and whoever they sign, a goal scorer has to be the priority as they simply cannot afford to continue to be so profligate in front of goal and expect to survive this season.

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8 Comments

There are a load of Man City reserves who could compete to get into a lot of first teams in the EPL, my worry is the wages they’re on, surely they’re going to be a lot more than the average player and I’m not sure how passionate they’d be about having a pay cut to play for the team at the foot of the division. They went to Man City in the first place, I would have thought, for the money. I think Rickie Lambert is a cracking shout and West Ham have previous with Dean Ashton, who they bought mid season from the Championship – he did alright for them!

I’m not sure if there is anyone at the team able to pull off a decent signing… The two clown owners went after pie in the sky names last summer, then give us a few loan signings and Pompey cast offs. Pablo Barrerra aside…

The thing that pains every West Ham supporter is watching any PL match and counting the former WHU players.

Grant seems…. confused and the arrival of Wally Downs has helped but Ben Haim at left back is puzzling, but speaks volumes of the problems at Upton.

And the £10 mil thrown about, seems like more talk, then reality.

West Ham might do well to go down. Get rid of some bloated contracts, get back to playing West Ham football, and win some games. The culture now is playing well is enough. And for a team that claimed to aspire to be a top 4 club and playing European football, has fallen to perennial contenders for the drop.

I haven’t lost my passion, but I have to be realistic, West Ham might do well to go after a loan of Bridge, get Barton… what’s not mentioned here is the players leaving. And there could be quite a few to add to the list of former WHU players… Cole, Upson, Parker, Behrami etc…

and to add insult to injury, I believe we can only add one more loan player.